In vehicle applications, a fuel cell stack may be required to undergo more than 30,000 startup/shutdown cycles. During normal operation of the fuel cell stack, air is continuously flowing into the cathode side of the stack and hydrogen is continuously flowing into the anode side of the stack. During shutdown, if the electrical circuit is open and there is no longer a load on the cell, unacceptable anode and cathode potentials may develop resulting in catalyst and catalyst support oxidation and corrosion, and cell potential degradation.